iPhone Xs And Xs Max Teardown Reveal New Battery Tech

With the iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max launching in a number of regions around the world today, iFixit has delivered its anticipated pair of teardowns. It's doing things a bit differently this time around, as its taking a look at the internals of both the iPhone Xs and Xs Max side-by-side. If you were around for last year's iPhone X teardown, you're definitely going to see a few familiar sights here.

Though iFixit wasn't the first out of the gate with its teardown, it's here that we get a better idea of how easily these phones can be repaired. Just as the teardown we saw yesterday suggested, it's a bit harder to remove the display on the Xs and Xs Max thanks to the presence of water and dust protection. The trade-off, of course, is that you probably won't need to open the phone as often to make water damage repairs, which can be difficult.

Once the displays are off, we see that the iPhone Xs Max features the same dual-cell battery layout as the original iPhone X, while iFixit notes that the iPhone Xs serves up a single-cell, L-shaped battery. iFixit's teardown also confirms that the iPhone Xs Max has a battery capacity of 3,179 mAh, which is similar to what we heard shortly after these phones were revealed. The taptic engine is a bit bigger in the iPhone Xs Max and the logic board is slightly larger, but the logic boards in both phones carry a design that's very similar to the one in the iPhone X.

So, how about repairability? Both the iPhone Xs and Xs Max earn a repairability score of 6 out of 10 – the exact same score the original iPhone X received. iFixit likes the fact that display and battery repairs are fairly easy and that everything is held down by screws more often than glue, though you'll still need pentalobe and tri-point screwdrivers to break into both devices.

Of course, those high points are tempered by the fact that the iPhone Xs and Xs Max feature glass fronts and backs, which increases the likelihood of damage. If that glass back needs replacing, you're in for a huge amount of work too, since you'll need to remove every piece of internal hardware and replace the chassis. Don't break the glass on the back.

Still, even with that hang up, 6 out of 10 is definitely a decent score, especially when it seems like many flagship phones aren't constructed with repairability in mind. Be sure to read iFixit's full teardown, as it has some truly fascinating finds in it, and head down to the comments section to tell us what you think of the iPhone Xs and Xs Max!